At approximately 4:30 PM on the afternoon of November 29, 2016, a remarkably brazen thief walked up to an armored vehicle and very casually grabbed an 86-pound bucket containing over $1.6 million worth of gold flakes destined for Canada. The truck was stopped outside of 48 West 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The loitering thief struck during the 20-seconds in which the guard on duty had left his post to retrieve his cellphone from the front seat of the truck. The man is later seen struggling with the bucket as he disappears behind a white van. According to an NYPD statement to NBC4, this truly was a crime of opportunity.

I think he just saw an opportunity, took the pail and walked off,” said NYPD Det. Martin Pastor, who’s overseeing the investigation. Police believe the man had no clue what was inside the bucket. …I think when the lucky charm opened up the bucket, he seen the rainbow and seen the gold

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.